


No Lack of Understanding

by archaicacid



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bottom Erwin Week, M/M, Prompt: Temperature, mostly canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-24
Updated: 2015-06-24
Packaged: 2018-04-05 21:25:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4195497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archaicacid/pseuds/archaicacid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes they find a simple escape</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Lack of Understanding

The slow moving water they find is deep enough for Erwin to stand in--it comes to around chest height, slightly less near the banks. It's cold, but everyone is used to that by now, even if they still complain. The sun manages to get warmer with each passing day, but the water takes longer to warm up than the soil, especially when he goes to bathe at first light.

Erwin stretches, lifting his arms above his head before taking off his shirt. He should probably wash that as well, but more often than not, there’s no time for clothes to dry completely and riding with wet clothes isn’t really an option. Just thinking about that gets Erwin to make a face.

He undoes his pants and lets them fall on the grass, making sure to avoid the mud just a few feet away, underwear next. Those he knows he needs to wash.

“I really need to stop catching you naked.” The voice is teasing, and when Erwin turns around, he sees Levi, already starting to unbutton his own shirt.

Bathing becomes a risk each time they do it out in the open, but Levi had repeatedly told him it was a chance he was willing to take for being clean. Erwin can agree somewhat, especially after days of riding with sweat and dirt building up on his skin. It makes him itch.

“You don’t complain much when you do.” Erwin smiles and steps in.

“I could be looking at worse.” Levi folds his clothes neatly next to Erwin’s and sits at the edge of the bank, dipping his toes in.

Levi's attraction is obvious, but he's sure of himself and Erwin doesn't mind their odd attempts at flirting. It feels normal, which is something neither of them get much. Even outside the walls, the feeling gives them much needed distraction.

Erwin dunks his head under the water, pushing his hair back when he surfaces and scratching at his his scalp. It feels good to do so after so long, he just needs the little bit of soap he's brought to properly wash up. The water is nice, but it isn’t going to be enough on its own, not after so many days of riding.

He walks towards Levi, making to get out of the water, but Levi stops him, soap in his outstretched hand. Before Erwin can grab it, Levi pulls that hand away.

 “Sit in front of me, I can wash you.”

Doing as he’s told, Erwin sits in the muddy water, trying his best to avoid the rocks and whatever else is below him. Behind him, Levi dips his hand in the water to lather up the soap and rubs it between his hands. There’s no sharp smell to it, mostly plain with a hint of lavender; it does what it needs and Erwin doesn’t care about the rest. He’d use the sweet smelling soaps they make in the inner walls if it was all he had, even if he thinks they’re overpriced and too sweet smelling.

When Levi starts to rub his hands across Erwin’s back, Erwin can’t help but shiver--his hands are cold as they hit all the sensitive parts of Erwin skin. They’re nearly the same height like this, Levi made a few inches taller by the raised bank, perfect for reaching where he needs.

"You should wash more. Might help with the bruises from the harness."

"You mean I should just take them off more."

"Yeah, and you fucking stink."

Erwin smiles but leans back against Levi. "I can't exactly avoid it.

The noise Levi makes it return probably means something like _yes you can_ , but Erwin ignores it. The supplies they have are limited--as soon as something is gone when they're outside the walls, there's nothing they can do. Erwin doesn't want to overuse anything, whether it's food, soap, or thread, he doesn't care. Having it is always better than not.

He's fairly certain that Levi had traded some of the bread in his bag for soap and incense--a decision Erwin won't agree with but one he’s not willing to argue against when Levi doesn’t complain about his rations. They forage where they can, but it’s never really enough, especially when some of the plants they encounter are new and no one is brave enough to try them.

"You think too much."

Erwin raises an eyebrow even though Levi can't see. The silence is probably telling, however.

"I mean, you fucking think too much, just relax when you can. You'll die too early."

"I think that's a given with us."

Levi flicks at his lower back. "You know what I meant."

“I do.” Silence comes between them again, but it's isn't uncomfortable. Erwin sighs and takes this time to hunch over, fully relaxing under Levi's hands as they starts to to knead Erwin's back with all their strength. He’s working out knots as he scrubs at Erwin’s skin--everything already feeling much cleaner.

When Levi dips his hands into the water and lets it fall across his shoulders, Erwin shivers. He'd gotten used to Levi's hands by now, but the water feels so much colder on his upper body. Levi begins to wash him again, letting his hands wrap around Erwin's shoulders to rub at his chest, wetting him. He lathers his hands with more soap and pushes his hands farther down Erwin’s chest, rubbing over pink nipples.

Erwin hisses. They're already hard from the cool water Levi poured across him and so they feel almost hypersensitive to touch. Levi doesn't notice, or he pretends not to, and moves his hands down Erwin's pale sides. They're a little ticklish, but that’s easy enough to hide from Levi as his hands roam.

Finally, Levi lets up, patting Erwin's shoulder twice. "Get your hair wet again."

Erwin follows his orders and slips lower into the water, goosebumps spreading across his arms. He doesn't dunk his entire head, just leans back far enough to wet his hair.

"Better?" Erwin question.

The response is something of an affirmative grunt. Close enough.

Lower on the bank this time, Erwin sits and leans back on his elbows, head between Levi's thighs so he can wash his hair. When his head starts to get tired, he lets it drop, but Levi supports his neck and continues to massage his scalp.

"You're good at this."

"Lice is sort of a big thing in the underground." His voice is steady.

"Right." More of a necessity. Erwin feels a bit stupid for not realizing. He'd seen it in some of his fathers classes, passing easily among children, but he'd been lucky enough to avoid most of those things in his youth.

"You're clean, if you're curious."

"I was, actually," Erwin says matter-of-factly.

The laugh behind him startles Erwin. He hadn't expected that sort of reaction from Levi, but it's a pleasant sort of unexpected. He's learned to not take things for granted, they come and go in a constant wave in this world. He's also learned not become too attached because of that, but Levi's quiet laugh is something he thinks he can afford to keep.

Erwin's not sure he's allowed to comment on it, though, so he settles on something else. "Are your hands always this cold?"

"I don't usually have them all over someone's naked body. I wouldn't know."

It's Erwin's turn to laugh, only it's quickly cut off as Levi runs those cold fingers across his nipples, lingering this time. He gives them both a rough pinch before pulling back.

"That's not exactly fair."

"What's not?"

Erwin lifts one arm off the ground to gesture vaguely. "What you're doing."

"I'm not doing anything."

The groans Erwin gives is louder than intended, but he gets his points across, even if Levi doesn't respond to it. Verbally, at least, because Levi pinches them again, hard enough for Erwin's hips to jerk. Levi's hands wander further, crossing Erwin's stomach and coming just above his flaccid cock. There's still soap on his hands, so he runs his fingers through the soft hair just above it, then cups his balls.

Erwin sits completely still, trying not to swallow as hard as he'd like to.

"You can wash your dick yourself, though," Levi snorts as he rubs his fingers across the rougher skin. He pulls away and gets up after that, leaving Erwin alone in the dirt.

Erwin watches as Levi gets into the water and pinches his nose before he dunks his head. The word tease flashes through Erwin's mind, but that isn't quite right. They do many things, but sex is not one of them, not yet--they only touch when they bathe. The intimacy they might want isn't a priority when they have so much else to worry about.

"Not that cold," Levi mumbles mostly to himself. The next sentence is directed towards Erwin, whose focus is somewhere beyond Levi's shoulder. "Toss me the soap."

"I could wash you."

"You're not going to do it right." Blunt, of course.

Erwin tosses Levi the worn down bar of soap, and Levi dips it in the water once before using it on himself, scrubbing across his chest and down his arms. When he cleans lower, it's unashamed but quick, washing around his cock and along the inside of his thighs.

Erwin had commented once on the differences between them, how foreskin covered his own cock, while Levi's was bare. It was something done with curiosity that brought up some of Levi's past and was dropped as smoothly as it had started.

"We should head back soon, Levi."

"I know." Except he doesn't pay much attention to what's said as he continues to stay in the water.

"A few more minutes then."

Erwin decides to rinse himself off once more before finally getting out. Getting dressed with damp skin is uncomfortable, so he can at least dry off as he waits for Levi, who doesn't seem bothered by his impatient actions.

The sun moves up the horizon, bit by bit, and when it's completely exposed, Levi finally drags himself out of the water. He doesn't seem very bothered by the breeze that picks up, cooling the water on their skin--he even dresses with wet skin. Erwin says nothing and grabs his pants, buttoning them before working on his shirt. His feet feel too dirty to slip into his boots, so he decides to wait until they’re back at camp to put them on--it’s grass all the way there.

They don’t walk side by side, Levi trails behind Erwin, but only because of the difference in stride length--Erwin had started at a slow pace and that’s what Levi keeps up. Whatever teasing air they had bathing is starting to dissipate, not so much equals now as commander and subordinate--Levi only indulges him when they’re alone and Erwin understand why.

“Thank you,” Erwin says, quietly.

Levi shrugs and keeps a straight face. “I didn’t do anything.”

Erwin shakes his head and tries to stop the smile creeping onto his face. He decides not to say what else is on his mind--that he gets to clear his head forget what’s happening for moments at a time. It’s a rather emotional confession that he knows Levi will want to avoid.

When they reach camp, Erwin looks to Levi and gives a small nod before they part ways. Levi returns it and heads towards his squad, whatever they had now put behind them.


End file.
